Can EAL Students Get Extra Time in the Selective Exam?

Can EAL students get extra time in the selective exam? Not on the basis of language alone. The adjustment processes for the NSW placement tests and the VIC selective entry exam are for students with a disability or medical condition, and need supporting evidence. Neither the NSW Department of Education’s adjustments page nor ACER’s special arrangements information mentions English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) as a category. Dictionaries and translation devices are not allowed in either exam.

NSW Selective and OC

The NSW Department of Education asks parents to tell it if their child has a disability (for example low vision, physical disability, autism or ADHD) or a medical condition that needs support. Examples of adjustments on its page include specific seating, noise-reducing earphones, access to medical equipment, wheelchair access and, for the computer-based test, zoom settings, colour themes, assistive technology, large print or a scribe. Requests need documentary evidence and must be made by the close of applications; approved adjustments are listed on the admission ticket about two weeks before the test. See the official reasonable adjustments page.

If your child has EAL needs and a diagnosed disability or medical condition, apply on that basis with evidence. Dictionaries are on the Department’s list of items students cannot bring.

Victorian ACER selective entry

ACER provides special arrangements for candidates with a disability or medical condition — its examples include wheelchair access, materials for candidates with low vision, diabetes monitoring devices and asthma medication. For the 2026 exam, requests had to be made through ACER’s special arrangements portal by the application deadline (24 April 2026). Dictionaries and translation devices are prohibited on exam day. See our VIC selective entry exam page for the format and timing.

What EAL families can do

• Start wide reading early — fiction, non-fiction and news — to build vocabulary and reading speed. This matters most in the reading and verbal reasoning parts.
• Practise reading and verbal reasoning under the real time limits, and keep a list of unfamiliar words met in practice.
• Practise timed writing, since both the NSW selective test and the VIC exam include writing (the OC test does not).
• For NSW, get comfortable with the on-screen format (see our prep guide for EAL students for more).
• If a disability or medical adjustment is genuinely needed, request it with evidence before applications close.

Practise at the real timing

Plan on the standard time limits. EduSpark’s papers are timed to match, with an explanation for every question, and there is one free paper per subject. For section lengths, see our NSW selective and OC test length guide.